The present invention relates to safety mechanisms for firearms and more particularly to a trigger safety mechanism for preventing accidental discharge of a firearm by inadvertent trigger manipulation.
The State of California requires any new semi-automatic pistol sold within the State to have a xe2x80x9cpositive manually operated safety device as defined by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) import criteria,xe2x80x9d and it is expected that this requirement will be imposed by other states in the future. The present invention comprises a trigger block safety that is in direct response to such legislation. The present invention, in the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings, has passed the California requirement by meeting the current BATF criteria on manually operated safety devices. Pistols incorporating the present invention have recently been approved for sale within the State of California.
The present invention was specifically designed to provide the most unobtrusive manually operated safety possible to a firearm having a pivoting trigger that is used to both cock and release the hammer or striker to fire the weapon. Such trigger-cocking firearms are commonly referred to as being xe2x80x9cdouble-action.xe2x80x9d In contrast, a xe2x80x9csingle-actionxe2x80x9d firearm is one in which the hammer or striker is held in a cocked position through some mechanical means, usually called a sear, and the trigger is used to trip the sear so that the gun fires when the trigger is pulled. Trigger-cocking firearms are referred to as xe2x80x9cdouble-action onlyxe2x80x9d if there is no single-action capability. In a xe2x80x9cdouble action onlyxe2x80x9d firearm, the trigger is used to cock and release the firing mechanism for each and every shot. For purposes of this application, the term xe2x80x9ctrigger-cockingxe2x80x9d rather than the term xe2x80x9cdouble-actionxe2x80x9d will be used herein to describe the process of a trigger both cocking and releasing the firing mechanism with a single trigger pull. The term xe2x80x9ctrigger-cocking onlyxe2x80x9d will be used herein to describe those firearms having no single-action capability.
The trigger pull of a trigger-cocking firearm is by necessity much longer and heavier than the trigger pull of a single-action firearm. A deliberate and conscious effort must be made for discharge to take place. Trigger-cocking only firearms have therefore customarily not been provided with manually operated safeties to block the trigger function. The length and the weight of the pull has been considered sufficient protection against accidental discharge through inadvertent trigger manipulation.
Trigger-cocking only firearms are typically defensive firearms, intended for self-protection rather than target shooting or hunting. In self defense, a prospective shooter must always be aware of the condition of his or her gun. A safety that can be accidentally switched on (e.g., into a safe position) can be as much of a hazard to the defensive shooter as a safety that accidentally switches to the off position (e.g., into the fire position) is to a hunter or sportsman. Many self-protection weapons are deliberately made with small or no sights or other protrusions which would snag on clothing in a quick draw situation. A problem with installing manually operated safeties in such weapons is that the weapons can lose their streamlined snag-free configuration. Further, by providing them with unnecessary exposed appendages intended to be safety devices these weapons may in fact be made less safe rather than more safe if the safety gets snagged in clothing and changes position between a firing position and a safe position. The smaller the pistol, the closer it is carried to the person without the benefit of the elaborate holstering that secures the condition of the gun, and the greater the likelihood the safety will accidentally shift positions.
A trigger bar safety is a design in which a safety blocks movement of the trigger. Trigger bar safeties are in themselves not new and numerous designs have been created incorporating trigger bar safeties into firearms.
The problem of incorporating a trigger bar safety into a firearm involves doing so elegantly within the limitations of the available space. One primary problem is how to retain a bar or button so that it may not be pressed laterally out of the firearm. Another problem involves how to position the trigger bar safety such that it blocks the firing mechanism without being susceptible to inadvertent switching between the xe2x80x9csafexe2x80x9d position and the xe2x80x9cfirexe2x80x9d position.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,223,460 discloses a trigger safety for a pistol that includes a laterally slideable plug incorporated into the trigger, which when slid laterally to extend beyond the confines of the trigger, will prevent rearward movement of the trigger by the plug""s interference with the pistol frame. A spring internal to the trigger engages notches in the plug as it is moved from one position to another, thereby retaining the plug when it is positioned in either the safe position or the fire position. This design suffers from a number of disadvantages. One problem is that although the spring engages notches in the plug in order to bias the plug in either the xe2x80x9csafexe2x80x9d position or the xe2x80x9cfirexe2x80x9d position, the spring is unable to prevent the plug from being forced all the way out of the trigger. Thus, the plug may be popped out of the trigger, rendering the trigger safety inoperable. Another problem is the position of the plug on the trigger. The plug is located relatively low on the trigger close to the rear of the trigger guard, thereby causing the rear of the trigger guard to interfere with the plug when in the xe2x80x9csafexe2x80x9d position. However, with the plug located this low on the trigger, the plug is susceptible to inadvertent switching between the xe2x80x9csafexe2x80x9d position and the xe2x80x9cfirexe2x80x9d position. Moreover, this design does not provide a streamlined snag-free configuration.
What is desired, therefore, is a manually operable trigger safety for preventing accidental discharge of a firearm by inadvertent trigger manipulation, which is mountable on the trigger of the firearm, which provides a streamlined snag-free configuration, which may not be removed from the firearm if it is pushed too far in one direction, and which is not susceptible to being inadvertently switched between the xe2x80x9csafexe2x80x9d position and the xe2x80x9cfirexe2x80x9d position.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a manually operable trigger safety for preventing accidental discharge of a firearm by inadvertent trigger manipulation which is mountable on the trigger of the firearm.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a manually operable trigger safety having the above characteristics and which provides a streamlined snag-free configuration.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a manually operable trigger safety having the above characteristics and which may not be removed from the firearm if it is pushed too far in one direction.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a manually operable trigger safety having the above characteristics and which is not susceptible to being inadvertently switched between the xe2x80x9csafexe2x80x9d position and the xe2x80x9cfirexe2x80x9d position.
These and other objects of the present invention are achieved by provision of a firearm incorporating a manually operable trigger safety for preventing accidental discharge of a firearm by inadvertent trigger manipulation. The firearm includes a frame having a trigger guard defined by an upper wall, a lower wall, a rear wall and a forward wall, and a trigger pivotally mounted to the frame, the trigger having a hole passing therethrough. A trigger bar is disposed in the hole and is transversely slideable in the hole between a fire position wherein the trigger is pivotable with respect to the frame and the firearm may be discharged and a safe position wherein the trigger bar and the upper wall of the trigger guard interfere with one another such that the trigger is not pivotable with respect to the frame and the firearm may not be discharged. Transverse movement of the trigger bar out of the hole in the trigger is prevented by contact of the trigger bar with the frame as the trigger bar is pushed in either transverse direction.
Preferably, the frame comprises a main frame member and a plate attached to a side of the main frame member, the plate blocking at least a portion of the trigger bar such that transverse movement of the trigger bar out of the hole in the trigger is prevented as the trigger bar is pushed toward and contacts the plate. Most preferably, the trigger bar is in the fire position when the trigger bar is proximate to the plate. In one embodiment, the trigger bar preferably comprises a first portion having a first cross-sectional dimension, a second portion having a second cross-sectional dimension smaller than the first cross-sectional dimension and a side wall connecting the first portion and the second portion. Transverse movement of the trigger bar out of the hole in the trigger is prevented as the trigger bar is pushed in a direction from the first portion toward the second portion by contact of the side wall with the frame. It is most preferable that the second portion of the trigger bar overlies and interferes with the upper wall of the trigger guard of the frame upon attempts to pivot the trigger with respect to the frame when the side wall of the trigger bar is proximate to the frame whereby the trigger bar is in the safe position.
The trigger preferably further comprises a spring in contact with and biased toward the trigger bar such that transverse movement of the trigger bar in the hole in the trigger is resisted by frictional engagement of the spring and the trigger bar. Most preferably, the trigger bar includes a notch therein in a location where the spring contacts the trigger bar when the trigger bar is in the fire position to further resist transverse movement of the trigger bar out of the fire position.